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Ocala Star-Banner Co. v. Damron, 401 U.S. 295 (1971)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Ocala Star-Banner Co. v. Damron, 401 U.S. 295 (1971)
Ocala Star-Banner Co. v. Damron No. 118 Argued December 17, 1970 Decided February 24, 1971 401 U.S. 295
CERTIORARI TO THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA,
FIRST DISTRICT
Syllabus
Petitioner newspaper published a false story that respondent, then a mayor and a candidate for county tax assessor, had been charged with perjury in federal court, and respondent sued for libel. The judge instructed the jury that the charge was libelous per se and that respondent could recover damages without showing malice. The jury awarded compensatory damages. The judge denied the newspaper’s motion for a new trial on the basis of the "actual malice" test of New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, on the ground that the article did not refer to respondent’s official conduct. The Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed, holding that the New York Times rule did not apply.
Held: A charge of criminal conduct against a public official or a candidate for public office, no matter how remote in time or place, is always "relevant to his fitness for office" for purposes of applying the New York Times rule of knowing falsehood or reckless disregard of the truth. Monitor Patriot Co. v. Roy, ante, p. 265. Pp. 299-301.
221 So.2d 459, reversed and remanded.
STEWART, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C.J., and HARLAN, BRENNAN, WHITE, MARSHALL, and BLACKMUN, JJ., joined. WHITE, J., filed a concurring opinion, post, p. 301. BLACK, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment and dissenting in part, in which DOUGLAS, J., joined, ante, p. 277.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Ocala Star-Banner Co. v. Damron, 401 U.S. 295 (1971) in 401 U.S. 295 Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LJ2S4JAZVC467N5.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Ocala Star-Banner Co. v. Damron, 401 U.S. 295 (1971), in 401 U.S. 295, Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LJ2S4JAZVC467N5.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Ocala Star-Banner Co. v. Damron, 401 U.S. 295 (1971). cited in 1971, 401 U.S. 295. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LJ2S4JAZVC467N5.
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